Eteocles is one of the least-known characters in Greek mythology, yet he plays a central role, and his significance should not be overshadowed by other more prominent figures, such as Oedipus or Antigone, who belong to the Theban Cycle. Nevertheless, Eteocles participates in the tragic events of Thebes; they occur primarily in the play “Seven Against Thebes,” which is written by Aeschylus. The following interpretive paper intends to focus on the character of Eteocles and his motivational underlying actions, as well as their wider implications in relation to the whole play tryptic along with Greek tragic tradition.
Eteocles was the son of the union between Oedipus and Jocasta, which was doomed to end in incest with both father-mother prohibition and a curse over patricide offspring among his family members. Oedipus’s unconscious sins, the shadowy shape of which hangs heavily over Eteocles. The darkness that opens the House of Oedipus serves as a haunted backdrop for Eteocles’ own suffering and decisions, placing his narrative under direct lines with an unbroken chain in which everyone within the family continues to be trapped between two claims—for life or death.
The play “Seven Against Thebes” puts Eteocles smack in the middle of battle, which means if he drops dead or loses this fight, everything that is set to take place after meets a sudden death as well. As a consequence, the curse dictates that Antigone’s brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, fight for the throne, with neither coming out of it alive, which is unexpectedly triggered. According to the agreement reached between the brothers, they take turns leading as rulers, with one brother rising to the throne for a whole year. On the other hand, when Eteocles refuses to give up power to Polynices, the events begin with a propensity for tragic fights.
Act 1, Scene 9 of the play, is one of its most significant moments because Eteocles’ defiance of a given agreement with Polynices creates a turning point for both characters and the entire storyline. His decision to not give up the royal crown, in turn, becomes a setting fire and an incendiary of the main battle that is spawned over as the other seven men, titled Seven Against Thebes, eager to liberate their homeland, advance forward. The knowledge of the onset of inherent danger makes Eteocles take up his battle arms, only to fight single-handedly for the sake of defending his city.
The personal ambition versus civic responsibility dichotomy is one of the most persuasive interpretations of the actions of Eteocles. Although Eteocles may know what his choice involves, he is more committed to Thebes than family ties. It depicts Eteocles as a patriotic leader divided between family loyalty and civic obligation, creating further depth for his character. It echoes the ambiguities characteristic of many tragic heroes in Greek drama—between personal desires and public well-being.
Finally, Eteocles’ determination to protect Thebes is evident in his speeches that acknowledge and oppose their attackers. Under the influence of hardships, he rules out and holds his wits high as an act of demonstration of pride being reflected by virtue in one’s determination. This iron determination, despite what it meant for him, is positive, although, in a way, it also proves to be his downfall. With regards to the Greek disaster, Eteocles is a character with a tragic flaw who reflects himself as an embodiment similar to “hamartia,” whose acts are technically coming from his side.
Innovatively, Eteocles’ hamartia is his overweening pride and blind trust in the righteousness of himself. His unwillingness to negotiate or give away the kingdom shows his respect for Thebans, as well as a complete lack of humility that leads him to believe he could not simply accept another position. The tragic irony is the realization that it was Eteocle’s defense of his city to preserve it by all means, which led him and the already dead Thebes into ruins.
The influence between personal will and cosmic destiny is a common idea in Greek tragedy, and Eteocles’s development becomes an emblematic representation of this interplay. While he acts out his agency in defending Thebes, the inevitability of their curse and a tragedy with which even his family is cursed render the tragic course of life.
Finally, Eteocles, who is usually obscured in the Theban Cycle, appears here as a complex tragic figure deflected from his perennial sacrifice by Greek tragedy. Eteocles struggles with the consequences of his actions because of the human condition. His constant devotion to the protection of Thebes shows a fight between family ties and civic duty, placing him above being just an actor in the mythical story. Eteocles transforms into a tragic sign of hubris, cautioning against the dangers linked to excessive conceit, while his travel is reflective of the cosmic inescapability highlighted by Greek mythology. Eteocles comes out alive in the tragic form associated with Thebes and becomes a general icon for human perseverance, hope, endurance, and mythological durability. He immortalizes himself through myth’s power that lingers beyond his mortality state long after death.
References
Torrance, I. (2023). Seven against Thebes. A Companion to Aeschylus, 88-98. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119072348.ch7
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